Easel attachment



April 30, 1929. E. DYMENT EASEL ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 19, 1927 Patented Apr. 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELWOOD DYMENT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE DYMENT COMPANY, OF OLEVELAN D, OHIO, A CORPORATION.

EASE]! ATTACHMENT.

Application filed January 19, 1927, Serial No. 162,130.

This invention relates to cardboard easels, such as used to sup-port a folding show card. Such easels are commonly formed of a foldable body permanently secured to one part of the folding card, wings hinged at opposite sides of the body and transversely foldable therewith, braces hingedly connected with the aforesaid part of the body whereby the wings may be held at an angle to the body,

and a lock connected with the other part of the folding card adapted to be releasably engaged with the upper ends of the wings,

when the easel is set up, to hold the said part of the card against the body of the easel in the same plane as the other part of the card. Heretofore this locking member has been formed of a piece separate from the easel requiring to be separately positioned and secured to the card. This adds to the labor cost of construction, and has the further disadvantage that if the work is not accurately performed the device will not set up properly. My object, therefore, is to devise an easel construction which requires no special care in assembly and in the operation of securing to the show card but in which, nevertheless, the proper relationship of the locking means to the wings is absolutely assured.

I attain my object by means of a construction which may be briefl described as follows. The lockin mem er is initially integral with the body of the easel but is outlined by a line of weakness so that it may be readily severed from the body after the body has been secured to one part of the folding card and part of the locking member secured to the other part. The locking member is scored to facilitate its being bent up to the locking position and is adapted for releasable en agement with the wings as hereinbefore referred to. i v The invention is hereinafter more fully described and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: igure 1 1s a perspective of the invention. Figure 2 is a plan showing the pedestal in flat position as applied to the card for transportation.

Figure 3 is ure 1.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation. In the drawings like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

a vertical section through Fig- The sign or show card 10 may be formed of any suitable material, usually stilf cardboard, and is shown as adapted to be folded upon the score line 11 extendin r from side to side thereof. The easel mem er is also preferably formed of cardboard, or a similar material, and comprises a body 12 and tapering wings 13, which are delimited b the score lines 13 from the body. Along t iese score lines-tho wings may be hinged to a position at an angle to the body. ,When the wings are bent to such an angular position, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 of the drawings, they are releasably locked in this position by means of a brace member 14 integral with the body and adapted to be bent into an angular position upon the score line 15, as shown in Figures 1 and This brace member, except at its lower end, is either completely separated from the body and wings 'along thc regular line 17, or the line 17 is originall formed as a line of weakness, along whic the brace and the other parts may be readily separated. When the brace, body and wings are separated, a free edge isformed, which is provided with the seats or notches 16. The notches 16 en gage the edge of the recess formed upon this line of separation 17 to retain the wings against lateral movement when they are bent at an angle tothe body of the easel, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 of the drawings.

The body of the easel is attached to the card in any preferred manner. For instance,

by means of a glued area 18 extending upwardly from the base to the score line 15 and by a glued area 19 extending from the line 17 to the line 31, which is a score line formed in the substance of the easel parallel to the score line 11 and on which the easel may be folded when its wings and body are in the same plane.

When the parts of the show card above and below the score line 11 are in the same plane, the upper part may be locked to the easel by means of the locking member which I will now describe. This locking member comprises a part 26 adapted to be gluedto the back of the upper part of the show card and a part 25 integral therewith and initially integral with the remainder of the easel. It

will be noted that the upper ends 27 of the wings 13 extend above the upper end ofthe body 12. The part 25 of the locking means lies between the said ends and is normally partly separated therefrom by a line of weakness 26. In the part 25 of the locking means are formed U-shaped slits 28 forming short tongues 29. The ends 27 are also rounded to forma shallow notch where the round of the end meets the side. When the ends are thrust through the slits 28, as shown particularly in Figures 1 and 3, these depressions 3O engage the ends of the slits and resist any tendency of the part 25 to disengage. Frictional pressure of the tongues 29 assists in securing this result.

In addition to the locking means described, or as a substitute therefor in the case of a small card, I may employ the locking means shown intermediate of the ends of the easel. This locking means comprises :a T-shaped member 20, which is formed integral in part with the body 12 but which is separable therefrom along the line of weakness 20 so that it may be bent on the score line 21, after separation from the body of the easel, and which may be secured to the card by the glued area 22. The ends 23 of the head of this locking member are adapted to co-operate with the lugs or projections 24 formed in one edge of an opening in the easel cut out in forming the head of the locking member (see particularly Figure 1).

The lines of weakness hereinbefore referred to may be formed in any known manner, but I prefer to cut entirely through the material,

' leaving merely three or four narrow necks of material not out.

In the manufacture of a show card provided with my improved easel, the easel is produced from a single blank by means'of suitable dies and the lines of weakness, the score lines and the lines of complete separation produced in the oJcratiOn. All parts being still connected, g ue is applied to the areas hereinbefore referred to and the easel in the flat form applied to a show card with the score line 31 of the easel adjacent the* score line 11 of the card. The show card and easel are then laid to one side until the glue is set. Usually they are piled so that the Weight of super-imposed show cards and easels holds the easels and show cards at the lower part of the pile in close contact until the glue is set. I thus assure that the looking member 25, 26 or the locking member 20, if the latter be employed, are secured tothe show card in absolutely correct relationship to the other parts of the easel. When a show card is to be set up, the part 25 is readily broken away from the wings and body of the easel, as may also the part 22 of the lockin member 20, if such a member be employe The easel may then be set up, as shown in Fig-' ures 1, 3 and 4 of the drawings. It the show card isto be shi ped in a folded condition, or to be folded a ter use, the lockin member and braces are readily disengage and the parts folded down flat, as shown in Figure 2. The show card may then be folded on the score line 11 and the easel separately folded on the score line 31.

From the above description, it will be seen, that I have devised a construction of easel which will satisfactorily attain the objects of my invention as set out in the preamble to this specification. It is further evident that any desired substitute of suitable characteristics could be employed instead of thecardboard described, so also, while an easel constructed as described is particularly adapted for a folding show card yet a similar locking device or devices might be employed with a show card not adapted to fold.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In combination, a show card, an easel comprising pedestal Wing members attached to the card and provided at their upper ends with spaced tongues, a locking member at' tached to the card separately from the easel and lying in the same plane as the latter when the win s thereof are folded to lie flat against.

her when the wings are moved outwards" to act with pedestal effect, and said locking member being movable on the card to engage with the tongues and hold the wings operative to perform their pedestal effect.

2. ,A cardboard blank for a supporting easel for show cards and the like comprising a body, wings delimited by score lines from the body, a locking member at one end proj ecting beyond the ends of the wings and delimited from the wings and body b a U- shaped line of weakness, the said ocking member being formed with a transverse score line along which it may hinge when separated from the blank and slits to receive the/ends of the wings when the wings and locking member are bent up on the score lines aforesaid. i

3. A supporting easel comprising a, body adapted at one end to be secured to a show card, wings hingedly connected with the sides of the body adapted to be bent up at an angle thereto and extending to a point at each side above the top of the body; a locking member comprising two parts hingedly connected, one adapted to be secured to the show card and the other to fit exactly the inner sides of the wings and the end of the body, the said ,part being provided with slits adapted for interlocking engagement with the ends are bent up.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a pedestal for signs, and the like, comprising supporting wings, and a top brace forming a part of the blank from which the pedestal is made, and having means for interlocking with the wings said blank being provided with severable connections between the pedestal body and the brace, the wing sections of the blank having locking tongues adjacent to the brace for interlocking therewith and means for connecting said wings and brace to the sign to be supported.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a supporting pedestal for signs and the like comprising a single blank of material provided at one end with a brace detachably connected therewith, the blank being formed with line of separation between it and the brace so that said brace may be broken out of the blank and detached therefrom, said blank having a second brace detachably connected therewith intermediate its ends, the main blank forming wings for the pedestal and being adapted to interlock with the braces when the latter are separated from the blank, and means for connecting said braces to the sign to be supported.

6. In combination, a show card, a supporting easel therefor comprising pedestal wings having an attaching section secured to the.

card and being foldable thereagainst when not in use, a locking member wholly separate from said wings and adapted to fold against the card to lie in the same plane as the wings, said locking member having means to interlock with the wing section and being movable to engage the ends of the wings and hold the latter in parallel operative position to support the card, and a second brace member interlocking with the wings at a lower point to hold said wings at their lower part in parallel position.

7. A supporting easel unit comprising an attaching section, a wing section flexibly connected thereto, and a detachable brace member at one end thereof having a separable connection with the end of the unit, said brace member being provided with wing interlocking means, said brace member and wing secsaid when in supporting position, said wing. members and brace member being providedwith card attaching means.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a supporting easel for show cards or the like comprising a unit stamped from sheet material,

said unit having a central section defined by spaced parallel fold lines providing foldable wing members, and a detachable locking member having a severable connection with the unit enabling its complete detachment and provided with an adhesive surface for efl'ecting attachment to a show card, said wing members also having card attaching means.

10. A supporting easel for show cards or the like comprising a body having a central section provided with an adhesive applied to the surface thereof for attachment to a show card and also having wing members at the sides of the central section and a locking tab at the end detachably connected with the central section and the wing members, the line of separation defining a pair of locking tongues on the wings, said tab having an attaching section provided with an adhesive surface for attachment to a show card and a locking brace having tongue receiving openin s.

ll, The method of applying a supporting easel to a show card or the like which comprises stamping sheet material with fold and tear lines defining a supporting wing section and a brace section, attaching said material to the show card as a unit so as to connect the brace section and also the wing section thereto, and completely separating the brace section from the wing section.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature. ELWOOD DYMENT. 

